Wine for More Coughing

Hello and welcome to "Sick in Bed, Day 2". This has been a very odd virus. Normally I have some warning, you know that feeling you get when you are starting to get sick, that makes you say "Oh crap, I'm getting sick" or something along those lines? Then the runny nose starts, and the headache, and then the cough settles in and outlasts everything else until finally that, too gives up the ghost.

But this time around i got no warning at all. One moment I felt fine, and the next I had a really bad cough that kept me up half the night. But the rest of me felt absolutely fine. No runny nose, no congestion, no sneezing, no headache, nothing. But now suddenly, in addition to the cough, the runny nose and the sneezing have started two days into it. And the cough just keeps on coming.

I put myself on vocal rest yesterday, because I basically can't talk anyway, and the more I talk, the more I cough. So i thought, by that same token, the less I talk the less I'll cough, right? Wrong.

I took my cough syrup last night and Steve and I went to bed. I, of course, was sitting up, because, well, that's the only way I can sleep without coughing. So I tried to sleep. But instead I coughed. And I coughed. And I sat up even straighter. And I coughed some more. And Steve put in earplugs. And I coughed. And I drank six glasses of water to try and stop coughing. And I stopped coughing. And then I had to pee fourteen times from all the water. And i coughed. And Steve groaned. And I coughed some more. And Steve rolled over, groaned and tried to get as far away from me in the bed as he could.

So i got up, and sat on the couch, and tried to sleep on the cough so as not to disturb Steve. And the coughing stopped, and I was so tired, and so desperate to be in bed, that I got back in bed and tried to sleep. And I coughed. And I coughed more. So poor Steve (trapped in that horrible in between of feeling sorry for his poor wife who is hacking her lungs up and wanting to desperately scream "For the love of God will you please! Stop!! Coughing!!!!!!"), goes out to try and sleep on the couch. In honor of that, I coughed some more.

After a little while, the coughing seemed to subside, and he crept back into bed, and both of us nursed the glimmering hope that we might be able to sleep. But no, the coughing returned. God only knows what time it was, and both of us by this point were so desperate for sleep that tears were not far off. After a time, though, finally the coughing subsided for real, and we were able to get a couple of hours of sleep. As you might imagine, a good time was had by all.

Miraculously, Steve still seems to love me, and even plans on coming home tonight. Tonight, though, we will set the airbed up in advance, because that things weighs about 900 pounds, and the thought of trying to set it up at 3am is enough to just push anyone over the edge.

On top of that, I missed my Italian test today. These individual tests actually have no bearing on the final Certified Exam, they're really just study aids and test-taking practice for us, but still, I hate that I am missing any part of this class. My teacher said I can take the test tomorrow, but realistically, I just don't know if I will make it in tomorrow either. I can't talk at all, I seem to be feeling worse rather than getting better, I still am coughing until I gag and cough syrup does nothing to help it, and on top of that, it's pretty hard to do a wine tasting when your nose is so stopped up that you can't smell anything!

No wine today. Just hot tea with honey, and maybe a Cup o Noodles, because even though they will cause a big wax ball to build up in my stomach, they are still one of those comforting things i crave whenever i am sick. The one with the little bits of freeze-dried egg and the tiny shrimp in it? Heaven.